Adjustable slice for papermaking machinery



Jan. 29, 1957 T. M. OWENS ADJUSTABLE SLICE FOR PAPERMAKING MACHINERYFiled Dec. 24, 1953 2 She'ets-Sheet l 4 mw m N 1- VM MU o S f A mom m, YB

Jan. 29, 1957 T. M. OWENS 2,779,253

ADJUSTABLE SLICE FOR PAPERMAKING MACHINERY Filed Dec. 24, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. THOMAS M. Owens ammmw United States PatentQ2,779,253 ADJUSTABLE SLICE FOR PAPERMAKING MACHINERY Thomas M. Owens,Wanakena, N. Y. Application December 24, 1953, Serial No. 400,199

3' Claims. (Cl. 92-44 from the head box onto the forming wire through anadjustable opening which largely controls the rate of flow and amount ofthe stock being deposited on the wire. This opening is defined by thehead box apron and side walls and an adjustable slice or slice assemblywhich can be moved towards or away from the apron to regulate the sizeof the opening. Since it has long been recog-' nized that the flow ofstock may vary in density across the discharge opening, the slice isfrequently provided with some kind of a flexible slice plate or lipwhich may be variably adjusted over its length to compensate for densityvariations in the stock. Usually, this slice plate adjustment is carriedout by means of a plurality of drawbars or rods which are secured atregular intervals to the plate, and which are individually adjustable topermit predetermined portions of the plate to be moved closer or fartherawayfrom the apron as necessary. The drawbars are individually adjustedin almostevery case by means of hand-wheels which are in threadedengagement therewith.

Unfortunately, the usual draw-bar-hand-wheel adjustment arrangement doesnot permit very accurate control of the stock flow for the reason thatthread play and backlash make accurate measurement of the amount ofadjustment being made very difficult. In addition, such adjustmentsafter being made are frequently nullified due to skidding of the stockwhich means lateral shifting of the flow currents and consequentrearrangement of the density pattern across the opening. Thesedifiiculties in obtaining stock fiow of uniform density across thedischarge opening are greatly amplified at the present provide improvedstock flow control structure for paper making machinery which ispractical and eflicient to operate.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide very accurateadjustment controls for a vertically adjustable, flexible slice lip.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide an improveddistributor roll for operation in conjunction with said improved sliceadjustment controls.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdetailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein like refertime because the speed of machine operation and thevide a paper making machine of the Fourdrinier type Y which isparticularly well adapted to produce high grade paper at the increasedspeeds and in the wider, webs required by modern production methods. I

A further important object of the invention is. to provide improvedstock flow control means for paper making machinery which can bepractically applied to machine installations of conventional design.

Still another important object of the invention is to ence numbers refer.to corresponding parts in all the views.

In'the drawings;

Figure 1 is a plan view of a Fourdrinier machine head box incorporatingthe improved stock flow control means of the invention; 7

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 2--2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the head box of Figure 1 with portionsof the slice frame broken away to illustrate the control linkage to theflexible'slice lip;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the prising a bottom 11supported on a column 12, a back wall 14 and left and right side walls15, 17, respectively. Paper stock is delivered to the head box 10through a pipe 18 which communicates with the partitionedopening- 20 inthe bottom of the box. The stock is discharged from the head box onto aconventional forming wire 21 whichis mounted on guide rollers 22 andpasses around the breast roll 24. The forward edge of the bottom of thehead box formsan apron 25 adjacent the forming wire, and the dischargeopening 27, Figure 3, for the stock is defined by this apron, side walls15, 17 and a vertically adjustable main slice generally indicated at 28.

Located behind the main slice 28 in the head box, adjacent the dischargeopening 27, is a distributor or vane roll, generally indicated at 30. Avertically adjustable secondary slice or darn 31 is mounted in the headbox behind the vane roll 30. The purpose of the secondary slice 31 is tocontrol the velocity and amount of stock passing through the vane rollto the discharge opening, and also to act as a dam to maintain a head ofstock in the after part of the head box. In addition, the slice 31 aidsin the recirculation of stock remaining in the head causing it to mixwith fresh, incoming stock from the delivery pipe 18. The vane roll 30supplants the conventional holy roll usually found in Fourdrinier typemachines, and one of its purposes is to agitate the stock flowingtherethrough so as to break up any unseparated masses or lumps of fibreand effect a thorough intermingling or intermeshing of the fibres inorder to form a strong web. To this end, the vaneroll shaft 32 isjournalled in the head box side walls, and is motor driven at 60-80 R.P. M. Another important purpose of the vane roll, and the particularconstruction thereof, will be explained hereinafter in connection withthe descrip- ,tion of the main slice adjustment controls. 7 V

Themain'slice 28, Figures 2 and 3, comprises essentially a verticallyadjustable slice frame 34 and a slice lip Patented Jan. 29, 1957 nmounted forvertical adjustment within the frame. Slice frame 34 isformed with parallel front and back plates 37, 38 integrally securedtogether as by the web or shelf 48. Back plate 38 is reinforced bythickening at 41, and is formed with an upstanding plate. extension. 42which terminatesin a horizontal flange or shelf 44 overlying the shelf40. Secured to each end of the upper shelf 44 is an enlarged lugor armmember 45 which extends over the uppervedge of the adjacent head boxside wall. Lugs 45 are threaded to, receive the, threaded shanks 47 ofhand-wheels 48, the hand-wheel shanks terminating in smooth cylinders50, Figure 4, which are rotatable in and confined by socket members 51secured to the upper edge of the side walls. In this manner, thehand-wheels 4-8 maybe turned to raise or lower the main slice.

The above-described vertical adjustment for the main slice is providedwith indicator means adjacent each end of the slice. An angle bar 52,Figures 3 and 4, is secured as by bolts 54 to the back side of each lug45, and these bars extend outwardly from thelugs beyond the outsideedges of the head box side walls 15, 17. The outer end of each bar isformed with a bore in which a threaded stud 55 is adjustably fixed as bylock nuts 57. Each stud is connected by a link 58 to a pointer lever 60which; is pivoted at 61 and coacts with a graduated indicator plate 62secured as by screws 64 to the head box side wall. As the hand-wheels 48are turned-to raise and lower the lugs 4-5 and main slice supportedthereby, the pointer 68 will pivot about point 61 to indicate the amountof adjustment made. As will be understood by those familiar with theart, indicator means are required at each end of the slice to insurethat both ends are at all times exactly the same distance above theapron 25; otherwise, subsequent adjustments across the slice to secure aweb of uniform profile would be unavailing.

The slice lip 35, which is mounted for vertical adjustment within themain slice, is a long flexible strip, Figures 2 and 3, of some suitablematerial such as Micarta. The li-p must not be deformable in thetransverse or horizontal direction by the force of the stock flowingthereagainst, and accordingly the lip is backed up and maintained in asingle vertical plane by means of a flange 65 integral with the frontplate 37 of the slice frame. It is necessary, however, that the lip bedeformable or distortable in the vertical direction in order to permitvariable adjustment throughout its length, and to this end, the lip isnotched with relatively deep notches 67 at spaced points along its upperedge to facilitate such distortion. The slice lip is adjusted within theslice frame through a plurality of drawbars 68 which are pinned orotherwise secured to the lip as shown in Figured, and which are threadedat their upper ends. The upper ends of these drawbars pass freelythrough bores in the shelf 48 and are engaged by hand-wheels 78 whichturn in socket members 71 secured by any suitable means to the shelf. Byadjusting the hand-wheels 70, initial adjustment of the slice lip may beeffected as will be more fully described hereinafter. Thehand-wheel-drawbar arrangement per se is -substantially conventional andwill be referred to henceforth as the primary controls for verticallyadjusting the slice lip.

Since the primary slice adjustment controls have no adequate lockingmeans and involve a certain amount of thread-play and backlash, it isvery diflicult to obtain highly accurate variable adjustment with them.To enable such adjustment the inventionprovides secondary sliceadjustment controls cooperable with the primary controls and with aportable dial indicator which may be graduated to .005 inch. To thisend, each drawbar 68 is provided with a threaded extension portion 72which extends up through and above its hand-wheel 7t and on which a locknut 74 and the enlarged base portion 75 of a meter rod 77 are threaded.The meter rods extend upwardly through the upper frame shelf; and ameter 4 block 78, the shelf and block having aligned bores in which therods are received witha free fit. As best shown in Figures 1 and 3, asingle meter block serves each pair of meter rods, and these blocks aresecured to the shelf 44 as by bolts 79. Slots 80 are cut in the ends ofeach meter block 78, Figure 5, and these slots communicate with thebores 81 provided for the meter rods so that the latter may be locked inany adjusted position with respect to the block by means of clampingbolts 82 which are threaded into the blocks at 83. The upper surfaces ofthe meter blocks are accurately machined so that a portable dialindicator assembly, generally indicatedat 84, can be positioned thereonto sense the position of the end of a meter rod 77 with respect to themachined surface as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The dial indicator assembly 84 may comprise a conventional dialindicator 85, suchas a Starrett indicator, and an ind icator supportingblock 87, Figures 3 and 6. Indicator 85 is provide d with the usualsensing plunger 88, and is adjustably held in a bore in the block by setscrew 89. Block 87 is formed with feet 98 at each corner thereof tominimize the surface contact between it and the meter block sinceparticles of stock fibre and other adventitious material sometimescollect upon the surface of the latter. The bottom surfaces of feet arealso accurately machined so that all four surfaces are co-planar wherebyblock 87 will rest squarely upon the meterblock.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The main slice frame 34 isfirst adjusted by means of the handwheels 48 so the endsof the frame areequidistant from the apron 25' and theslice lip 35 is approximatelyspaced the proper distance from the apron for the desired weight ofpaper. Thereafter, if the discharge opening is to be /;"high, forexample, a /8" feeler gage is successively positioned on the apron undereach drawbar 68 and the hand-wheels 70 adjusted so that the lower edgeof the lip just touches the gage. In this manner, initial verticaladjustmentof the lip is effected and the lower edge of the lip issubstantially parallel to the apron throughout itslength.

After the slice frame and primary slice lip controls have been adjustedas described, the secondary adjustment controls for the slice lipare putinto operation in the following manner. The portable dial indicator 85is removed from its case and set to zero. The indicator supportiug block87 is then set upon the machined surface of any of the meter blocks 78,with the set screw 89loosened, and theindicator is inserted in the boreof the block and pushed down until the indicator arrow makes onecomplete revolution and returns to zero, at which point the set screw 89is tightened. This permits the adjusted indicator assembly 84 to readzero when resting upon a perfectly level surface, but also permits it toread minus (to sense depressions) as well as plus (to senseprojections). Thereafter, the indicator assembly is successivelypositioned on each meter block with its sensing plunger over each meterrod bore 81, and the meter rods 77 are adjusted up or down on thedrawbar extensions 72 until the indicator reads zero which indicatesthat the ends of the meter rods are flush with the machined surfaces ofthe meter blocks. The lock nuts 74 are then tightened so that the rodsbecome fixed extensions of the drawbars, and the clamping bolts 82 arealso tightened so that the rods and their corresponding drawbars areeffectively locked in their initially adjusted P s t s.-

After the above-described adjustments have been made, the secondaryslice or dam 31 is vertically adjusted by means of hand-wheels 91,operable in the same manner as the main slice hand-wheels 48, toposition the darn so that the paper stock will flow thereunder to thedistributor or vane roll EOWith the proper velocity. The vane 'roll isthen setto rotating and stock is introduced into the head box throughthe delivery pipe 18 so that a head of stock is built up behind the damand a portion thereof commences to flow thereunder. The rate of stockfeed into the head box may be controlled by conventional means, notshown, and largely determines the height of the head behind the dam andthe ultimate weight of the paper being formed.

After several hundred feet of paper have been run off on the machine, asample of the paper will be tested to determine the amount of weightvariation across the profile of the web. This is accomplished byconventional methods whereby a section of the web is usually cut intolengthwise strips which are very accurately weighed to determine whetherthe weight variation is within permissible limits, or in other words,whether the profile is substantially uniform. Usually, the variationwill not be within permissible limits due to variation in the density ofthe stock flowing under the slice, and variable adjustment of the slicelip must be made to compensate for such variation. From the test stripsit is determined which portions of the slice lip must be moved closer toor farther away from the apron and,.in accordance with the invention,this adjustment is carried out in the following manner. The dialindicator assembly 84 is successively positioned over each meter rod 77corresponding to a portion of the lip needing adjustment, and theclamping bolt 82 for the rod is loosened. The rod remains fixed to itscorresponding drawbar 68 due to the lock nut 74. The hand wheel 70 forthe drawbar is then turned to adjust the latter up or down as necessary,and the amount of adjustment is accurately recorded by the dialindicator. When the proper amount of adjustment has been made, theclamping bolt 32 is again tightened to lock the rod and its drawbar inadjusted position. As previously mentioned, the dial indicator 85 ispreferably graduated to .0005 inch so that very minute adjustments canbe accurately carried out regardless of the amount of thread playbetween the handwheel and drawbar because the actual vertical movementis measured by the indicator and not by the amount the hand-Wheel isturned. Heretofore, it was possible to obtain adjustment toapproximately .03 inch but since there was no adequate locking means theadjustment could only rarely be maintained. With the controls of theinvention, however, adjustment to within .0005 inch can be made, andsuch adjustment can be maintained due to the effective locking action ofbolts 82. Only one dial indicator is needed to make all the necessaryadjustments, and when not in use the indicator can be stored in its caseas is proper for any sensitive measuring instrument.

While the above-described controls enable very accurate variableadjustment of the slice lip, their effectiveness in producing paper webshaving closely regulated, truly uniform widthwise profiles is greatlyenhanced by the particular structure of the distributor or vane roll 30provided by the invention. Thus, the vane roll comprises a plurality ofcircular plates or discs 92 mounted in spaced relation to one another onthe roll shaft 32 with the spacer members 94 interposed between theplates. As noted hereinabove, the vane roll serves to break upunseparated masses of fibres and effect a thorough intermingling of thefibres, but equally important is the action of the plates 92 in guidingthe stock through the discharge opening in paths which are parallel andsubstantially perpendicular to said opening. This action eliminates thetendency of the stock to skid or travel laterally and therefore insuresthat the slice lip adjustments, when once made, will continue to beeffective. Previously, with the conventional type of holy roll, thestock frequently shifted laterally or pulled from either side to flowinto an area of the discharge opening Where the lip had been movedfarther from the apron. This lateral drawing of stock from one area tofill another, of course, reduced the effectiveness of the lipadjustment. With the present arrangement, however, sideways drawing iseffectively curtailed and any additional stock needed to fill a widenedportion of the opening is drawn from the reservoir or head behind thedam 31.

It should also be noted that the construction of the vane roll 30 aidsin the production of better paper in that it provides no areas whereslime can collect or lumps of fibres can form to later ruin portions ofthe paper as frequently happens with the conventional holy roll andmodifications thereof. Thus, the rounded edges of the plates 92 andcontoured spacers 94 offer no jagged edges to catch portions of thestock, and anything momentarily sticking to the roll will be quicklycleaned off due to its constant rotation through the stock.

This invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The embodimentsdisclosed are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims.

What I claim is:

I. In a paper making machine having a vertically adjustable slice frameand a slice lip mounted for vertical adjustment within said frame, saidlip being distortable in the vertical direction: adjustment controls forsaid lip comprising a plurality of link elements supported in said frameand secured to said lip at spaced intervals along its length, means toraise and lower each link element to effect initial vertical adjustmentof said lip in said frame, means forming an upwardly projectingextension on each link element and adjustable independently of saidelement to a zero reference point on said said frame after said elementhas been initially adjusted, and means to lock said extension means onsaid link elements after adjusting the former to said zero reference,whereby further adjustment of pre-selected link elements by said raisingand lowering means can be accurately measured at said zero reference bymeans of a dial indicator.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said slice lip is formedwith relatively deep notches along its upper edge to facilitatedistortion thereof in the vertical plane.

3. In a paper making machine having a vertically adjustable slice frameand a slice lip mounted for vertical adjustment within said frame, saidlip being distortable in the vertical direction: adjustment controls forsaid lip comprising a plurality of drawbars supported in said frame andsecured to said lip at spaced intervals along its length, a hand wheelthreadedly engaging each drawbar to raise or lower it, said hand wheelsbeing adapted to effect the initial uniform vertical adjustment of saidlip in said frame, a meter rod adjustably mounted on each drawbar aboveits hand wheel, said meter rods being adjustable to a zero referencepoint on said frame after initial adjustment of said drawbars, means tolock said meter rods to said drawbars after adjusting the former totheir zero reference points, whereby each drawbar and its correspondingmeter rod forms a rigid unit structure between said lip and the zeroreference point, and a portable dial indicator adapted to coact withsaid meter rods at their zero reference points to accurately measure thedistance a particular drawbar is further raised or lowered by its handwheel regardless of the amount of play or baclolash between the handwheel and drawbar, and means to lock said drawbar in its furtheradjusted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,552,629 Mason et al Sept. 8, 1925 1,890,634 Wenzel Dec. 13, 19321,906,355 Bagley et al. May 2, 1933 2,418,600 Ostcrtaag Apr. 8, 19472,548,108 Hornbostel Apr. 10, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 679,926 Great BritainSept. 24, 1952

